Things You Gotta Know

Data Centers Pose Growing Threat to Electric Grid Stability, Warns U.S. Regulator
The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) has identified large data centers—especially those supporting AI and crypto—as one of the most urgent risks to U.S. grid reliability. These facilities draw massive, irregular power loads and are prone to voltage sensitivity. NERC cited back-to-back outages of 1.5 and 1.8 GW in Northern Virginia as evidence of strain. As the AI boom accelerates, regulators urge rapid integration planning and support for battery storage to offset instability.

Proxima Fusion Secures $148M to Lead Europe’s Commercial Fusion Effort
German startup Proxima Fusion has raised €130 million ($148M) in Europe’s largest private fusion funding round. Backed by Balderton Capital and Cherry Ventures, the company is building a stellarator-based reactor with plans to deliver a demo by 2030. CEO Francesco Sciortino emphasized stellarators’ potential for continuous power output and their technological readiness, with the goal of making fusion commercially viable within the decade.

Berkeley Lab Showcases the Core Technologies Driving Fusion Forward
Berkeley Lab is advancing fusion science across six key areas: superconducting magnets, real-time magnet monitoring, plasma simulations, neutron source analysis, laser-driven fast ignition, and materials testing. Highlights include their award-winning WarpX plasma simulation code, fiber-optic magnet monitoring, and compact accelerators under the BELLA program. These technologies bridge gaps between experiment and commercialization, aiming to improve reactor design, efficiency, and durability.

Clean Air Task Force Urges Europe to Launch an Industrial Fusion Strategy
The Clean Air Task Force warns that Europe risks falling behind in the global fusion race unless it adopts a competitiveness-focused industrial strategy. While the EU has the scientific infrastructure and supply chains to lead, overlapping governance, weak public-private partnerships, and regulatory uncertainty are stalling progress. CATF recommends empowering F4E as a central body, aligning fusion policy with EU green frameworks, and shifting toward commercial deployment to maintain European leadership.

IAEA Honors LLNL and Rochester Team for Fusion Neutron Breakthrough
Charles Yeamans and colleagues at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the University of Rochester received the IAEA’s 2024 Nuclear Fusion Prize for their pioneering work in neutron generation using polar direct drive (PDD) fusion techniques. Conducted at the National Ignition Facility, their experiments marked a step forward in inertial confinement fusion, enabling better diagnostics and more efficient conversion of laser energy to fusion output.

European VCs Make Record Bet on Proxima Fusion as Stellarator Revival Gains Steam
Proxima Fusion, spun out from the Max Planck Institute, has raised a record €130 million in Series A funding to develop a stellarator-based fusion plant. Stellarators, though complex to build, offer easier operational stability and continuous output compared to tokamaks. Proxima plans to debut its Alpha demo in six years and scale to a 1 GW reactor. With AI accelerating design and growing private capital, investors and founders see an opportunity for Europe to lead in clean, reliable energy.

Investing in Energy: Where’s the Money Going Under Trump 2.0?

BY MICHAEL HEUMANN

Clean energy investment continues to outpace fossil fuels, with $2.2 trillion expected to flow into renewables, storage, and grid infrastructure. While Trump 2.0 aims to boost fossil and nuclear, grid modernization remains bipartisan and is critical to fusion’s integration. We break down where the money’s going and why it matters.

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Integrating Fusion Energy: Feeding the Electricity Grid is The Final Test

BY MICHAEL HEUMANN

Building fusion reactors is only half the battle; connecting them to the grid is the real test. This piece explores financing, regulatory hurdles, utility fit, and public acceptance as key challenges to fusion deployment. As fossil fuel plants retire, fusion must be ready to take their place within an aging but indispensable infrastructure.

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